A collection of emerging market securities regulators are banding together to support the adoption of the global climate standards crafted by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) reported that a group of 32 regulators representing various emerging market jurisdictions — including China and India, along with a number of countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South and Central America — have launched a dedicated network to support the adoption of the ISSB standards, which aim to improve climate-related disclosure to investors.
Among other things, the network is expected to help build local capacity to implement the requirements of the ISSB standards, particularly the capability to oversee and enforce adoption of the standards in their markets. It’s also designed to provide a platform to improve information sharing at a regional level.
Since the initial ISSB standards were published in mid-2023, IOSCO has endorsed the standards for use in the capital markets — so far, regulators in 56 jurisdictions, including both emerging and developed markets, have taken some action to adopt the standards, it said.
“We have seen a strong interest from our [emerging markets] members wanting to introduce the ISSB standards into their respective regulatory frameworks,” Jean-Paul Servais, chairman of the IOSCO board, said in a release.
“This dedicated network will offer them expert support with the help of the ISSB and other partners,” he added.
The participating regulators represent markets with over half the world’s population, more than 90% of the BRIC countries’ GDP and market cap, 85% of Latin America’s market cap, and 60% of market cap in the Middle East and Africa, IOSCO reported.
“We are delighted to see considerable interest from emerging markets jurisdictions towards adopting the ISSB’s global baseline of sustainability disclosures for capital markets,” said Emmanuel Faber, ISSB chair. “Doing so will help them align their sustainability-related disclosure requirements with the global baseline, connecting them to global capital pools and investors seeking new investment opportunities.”
“This progress is also important to all other jurisdictions because multinational companies with global supply chains will stand to benefit from the availability of comparable data and disclosures from across the value chain and such disclosures will facilitate trade,” he added.